That would not sound like a promising begin for a put up, does it? But it's the actual story at most Opens, and it's actually looming this weekend.
The R&A decided to send players off both 1 and 10 tees today in hopes of missing most of the bad weather. I understand that they expect a Spanish Plume, which sounds festive but can cause extreme heat, flash flooding, hail, and even tornados. Tennis ball-sized hail from one of these plumes slammed France just over a month ago.
It doesn't sound like the best of conditions for golf. And since Rory is leading, you have to assume he'll have considerably worse weather than some of his pursuers teeing off an hour or so earlier.
Hoylake has already wrecked the hopes of some favorites like Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, Bubba Watson, and Webb Simpson. Despite the carnage, the leaderboard looks like a Who's Who from the OWGR. And one man's disaster is another man's opportunity.
If Phil can put something together in the tough conditions today, he just might get himself a chance to defend his title.
While Tiger isn't playing particularly well, I find the mere fact that he made the cut with only 2 competitive rounds in nearly 4 months fairly encouraging. And three of my picks -- Sergio Garcia (T3), Rickie Fowler (T3), and Jim Furyk (T9) -- are all right there in the mix.
But the story today will be Rory. Just because he got past the second round jinx doesn't mean the third or final rounds are guaranteed -- just remember the Honda Classic earlier this season -- and Dustin Johnson is right on his heels.
Oh yes, the potential for disaster is everywhere today. But I guess that's just regular old Open golf.
One last thought: Not all disasters are necessarily weather-based. After he became the oldest man to make the cut in the Open Friday, Ryder Cup Captain Tom Watson calmly told the press, "I'm thinking about picking the captain." I see some potentially disastrous effects in store for some of the team hopefuls!
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